Big Yellow Taxi

A friend of mine is fighting to save his property from the ever longer reach and ever less caring arm of the law. 

There is a small town in a state west of the Mississippi (I love spelling that word) River whos citizens are the brightest in the world.  I would guess the average IQ for this town is around 10-12 points higher than most other towns in America.  The brilliance of its residents does not help the town govern itself, as their intelligence seems to change not one thing about the town politics.  There are a few that really care about what happens in the little burg, about 80% are facinated with their work and get concerned only when the power goes out or the water lines freeze and the rest don't know how to read their watches - same as everywhere else in America.  It's the few that really care that cause the problems.

You see, they are highly intelligent in their daytime endeavors and this gives them the confidence to believe they also are competent in matters for which they have not been trained.  These are the prime beef in the town and they run the show.  Since most of them have day jobs, and since they are too smart to hire a competent city manager or create a charter that allows a mayor to run the town - after all they are the best and brightest so they can run the place all by themselves - they are dependent on city staff for the ideas and day to day functioning of the town.

In otherwords, the bureaucrats are in charge.  And the bureaucrats need constantly increasing budgets and employees who report to them.  So, if one of them gets a hairbrained idea that will increase either of these two measures of success, all he has to do is sell it to the council.  One of the desk jockys is in the process of doing that as I write this and that is why my friend is having to fight.

The current airport manager is trying to establish commercial air carrier service at the local airport.  Never mind that it has been tried and failed several times in the last forty years, according to him it'll work this time.  Never mind the largest potential user is opposed to the idea and does not endorse the plan, it will work this time.  Never mind the economy is slowly grinding to a halt, it will work this time.  I can think of twenty more "never minds" but I think you can understand this is a truly awful idea, and stands right up there with other awful ideas that in the last seven years have put the residents of this small place in debt up to their chins.  I would seldom waste a day thinking how to put this mess into words, but my friend and his friends stand to lose a lot if this plan is put into action.

My friend will have his hanger torn down to make way for the new air carrier.  The one that will never serve this town because the economics make no sense.  His hanger is the focal point of a thriving pilot community.  He is knowledgable in all things related to aviation and freely shares this knowledge.  His hanger is always open to any with a question.  He is a natural leader and every pilot at that aiport will lose if he loses.  The taxpayers will lose because they will be further in debt.  The only one to gain is an airport manager who will see his budget grow.  This guy is busy running over airplanes with a lawnmower and allowing the runways and taxiways to become loaded with potentially hazardous objects while he works on a grandiose plan to waste even more of the good citizens money.

Why is this important to someone who lives in the UK or anywhere else in the world?  It's important because the same government waste is going on in your town.  A bureaucrat in your town is at this moment trying to find a way to increase his budget and raise your debt load.  Look around your town and talk to people you know about what they see going on and tell them what you see.  We have to find a way to stop the silliness.  We can no longer afford the wasteful ways of government.

In the early 70's Joni Mitchell wrote a song, "Big Yellow Taxi".  A part of the refrain says "don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got til its gone"  She was talking about the whole planet but it also applies to a little part of it here and there.  We're just standing with our hands stuffed deeply into the pockets of our jeans watching as it all gets wasted and soon it's gonna be gone.